Timeline
Pre-Fault Era Construction Rise of the Drakite Empire 2026 – 2052 The “Second Dark Age” or “Great Interregnum” begins, ending only with the rise of the Drakite Empire. During this era, with the death of almost all extant nations, mankind suffers from minor technological drops and a reliance on decades-old technology for survival and warfare. Most nations fragment into hundreds or thousands of city-states whose interactions run the gamut of close cooperation to outright, brutal warfare. Over time alliances form in certain areas of the world, usually through economic cooperation, but also through conquest, however these are few and far between. July, 2052 '''On the recently expanded and renamed “Drakite Continent;” and after a brutal campaign of conquest, the newly-crowned “First Emperor of the Drakite Empire” finishes consolidating power and resources on the vast continent and begins his plans for worldwide conquest. The relative unity of the Drakites and their plentiful resources and war material allow them to seriously consider world domination after getting the Northern Socialist Union to ally with them under the territory of “Warpus” and adding their own massive numbers of tanks and infantry to the Drakite’s war chest. Spurred by this action, possibility of economic success and fear of invasion; the North American Alliance joins the Drakites without a shot fired and becomes known as the territory of “Alperia.” Alperia contributes one of the only high-technology industrial bases left alongside natural resources and war materiel. '''2052 – 2074 Most of the world is rapidly conquered by the Drakite Empire, the European Union (renamed to Gridiron) is among the first territories conquered alongside the “Keller Alliance” (renamed to Thorgun) and becomes part of the “Power Square”; the 4 “original” Drakite territories that gradually become rich and powerful (and greatly expand their territories) off the world’s plunder, eventually coming to surpass the economies and standard of living of first-world nations from before the Great Fault. For this to happen however the rest of the world is left is squalor, populated by anti-imperial militants and bled dry by Drakite military action and taxes. March 8, 2073 – April 12, 2073 Despite the great living and economic success under the Drakites, the territories of Alperia and Gridiron feel they deserve the reigns of the empire, or at least to be treated as equals rather than subservient territories. This leads to the First Drakite Civil War, a short-term conflict between Alperia and Thorgun, and Gridiron and Warpus…both rebellions are quickly silenced through sheer brutality and a lack of actual militia support. Despite the end of the rebellions however, this lays the groundwork for the later shattering of the empire, with the brutality of the war and the rampant death of civilians and protestors reaching all corners of the empire, creating massive anti-Imperial sentiment in Gridiron and Alperia and causing even the staunchly-loyal Warpian soldiers to question the Emperor. The Drakite Wars May 25, 2074 – December 7, 2080 The Third Drakite Emperor is assassinated by an unknown party and the civil unrest throughout the empire finally explodes in the form of a massive succession and subsequent multi-sided war. The Power Square form a loose alliance after the Warpians are finally convinced by the Alperians of the corruption and monstrosity of the Drakite Empire and that together, the 4 nations can defeat their former master and take power for themselves. The 4 nations take new titles; Warpus becomes the Warpian Protectorate, Alperia retains its name as the Alperian Federation, Gridiron reverts back to the European Union and Thorgun retitles its self as The Peacekeeper Alliance. Numerous other nations form and either hostile or aligned with this alliance; Gran Colombia, Nezumi, Infor the PAC and Verdun are the only to survive this conflict known as the “First Drakite War.” Despite being allied against the Drakite Empire’s attempts to reclaim their territory during this time, the Peacekeeper Alliance maintains a massive level of paranoia toward their newfound allies and combined with a still-strong pro-Drakite political-base refuse to participate in most of the fighting, spending their time and resources on internal expenditures until the end of the Drakite War; a nebulous peace determined by the signing of a peace accord between the 4 nations and the Drakite Empire after they start experiencing the beginning of another civil war and suffering from massive political turmoil. December 8, 2080 Not hours after the ink on the Isenberg Peace Treaty had dried; the Peacekeeper Alliance declares war on the Warpian Protectorate without warning by the detonation of several low-yield tactical nuclear weapons in their unpopulated northern territories and the deployment of chemical and biological weapons in their cities. The Warpians respond with one of the quickest and most brutal wars they will ever come to fight, Alperia joins the fight and together the two nations crush the PKA so badly as to reduce the territorial holdings by almost 50% and stripping the once-powerful nation to its bones in a mere 9 months. This team-up will come to cement the friendship shared and strengthened between Alperia and the Protectorate for decades to come. 2083 – 2094 '''The Reconstruction begins; between an apocalypse, the fall of a global empire and 2 wars; the nations of the earth are hurting and need to establish some stability. During this period the alliance between the Warpians, Alperians and Europeans (and later, North Drakites) becomes critical to their success and soon the 3 nations have reclaimed the glory of the pre-fault and begin to assist in the creation and uplifting of new nations and territories. Meanwhile the PKA rebuilds their shattered nation at a speed not seen in centuries under a fascist dictatorship that despises the other 3 nations. It is during this period that Kargistan is formed by the Warpians; Alperia fosters the growth of Verdun and the Knights Order…and Infor becomes an important nation. Infor started off humbly, a loose hegemony of city-states that were under the control of the most powerful; Infor. The Inforians had developed a curious obsession with biological engineering projects during the interregnum and under the Drakite empire. Viewed as fellow survivors by the Alperians and looking for a way to repair earth’s dying ecology brought on by the Fault and WW3 the two nations teamed up on created a new ecology for earth, one that would grow and create a new paradise capable of sustaining the rebuilding and resurging population. Hypergrowth was soon spreading across the world to provide food and soil-stability, while mutated animals possessing incredible survivability and adaptability began to spread across the globe revitalizing the plummeting biodiversity and filling important environmental niches. It should be noted that these ecological restoration projects with the Alperians had been in the works since almost before the Drakite Empire, but Infor did not attain major notoriety or personal work until after the Empire fell. '''January 1, 2089 – October 30 2092 '''The Drakite Empire finally breaks apart during a massive civil war, the “New Year’s War” or "Second Drakite Civil War” is caused by the self-titled Northern Drakite Republic breaking literally half of the Drakite Empire away and trying to atone for their crimes; forming a steady economic alliance with the “3 Powers” during the war, allowing them to eventually best their more heavily armed brethren and forcing a ceasefire that persists to this day. However this economic hiccup causes several developing areas and proto-nations to loose support from the 3 Powers and causing them to slide back under the rug, creating the beginnings of the later anti-GSC sentiment. '''April 4, 2094 – August 25, 2096 Declaring war out-of-the-blue once again, the PKA launches a massive barrage of ballistic missiles tipped with potent, and unusually dangerous biological weapons across the world. The 3 Powers manage to save themselves via an Alperian-constructed anti-ballistic missile defense grid; however most of the world sees random cities and even capitals lost in a barrage of plagues and flesh-rotting viruses. This becomes the first instance of the “Neo-viruses” that will become commonplace in later years, causing everything from almost-immediate death to the spread of a “zombie plague.” While easily contained by the efforts of the 3 Powers and limited to relatively small populations, the horror of this act causes many new nations and city-states allied with the 3 Powers to refuse a war with the PKA, especially once the vindictive South Drakite Empire are revealed to be their backers. Nonetheless, the Warpians, Alperians and North Drakites charge into the fray and yet again best the Peacekeepers and Drakites over the course of a short war, this time leaving the nation to rot under extensive oversight. August 17th of 2096 also marks the foundation of the Global Security Coalition in the Alperian city of New Holstice; founded by the 3 Powers, their ally-nations and open to all nations and city-states across the world. The original signers; Alperia, the Protectorate, Infor, North Drakites, Verdun, the European Union and the Atlantian Republic form the “GSC Security Council”. Beneath the Security Council is the GSC Circle; which consists of “proper” or “formalized” GSC member-states, akin to NATO of the pre-fault and is the true power of the GSC; highly convicted, bound and unified by many laws, trade-agreements and standards and willing to strike out against any threat. Outside the Circle is the General Assembly which consists of any recognized nation, city-state or alliance willing to send representatives. The General Assembly is mostly show, and exists primarily for diplomatic and espionage purposes, with real decisions only being made scarcely and rarely enforced to any extent. Reconstruction 2096 While undergoing investigation as to the source and strength of the Peacekeeper bioweapons; Alperians investigators happen upon a trail implicating a large portion of the Inforian government and many respected scientists in the production and sale of both the viruses and delivery systems to the PKA for vast sums of Drakite resources. The newly formed GSC Court of Justice, in an attempt to appear effective and willing; slams Infor with reparations, sanctions, and disarmament contracts. Unable to even come close to fighting the GSC’s powers; Infor submits and a large portion of the Inforian government is jailed and charged with crimes against humanity; however unbeknownst to the GSC the corruption persists in their government and upper-echelons of the scientific community (those associated with the government directly at least) and Infor’s leadership…like so many others, comes to hate the GSC despite an extremely pro-GSC populace (arguably this is how Infor was able to hide its corruption so well). Ultimately this causes the Inforian government to retreat ever-further into the obsession with bioengineering, accelerating efforts and projects with the Alperians in-order to appear friendly once more, all the while just waiting to stab both their own people and the GSC as a whole in the back and twist. With Infor’s seat on the GSC Security Council taken away and left vacant, it was decided that instead; one nation from the GSC Circle would selected to serve a 4 year term on the Council, cycling through all other member states. 2096-2115 The Reconstruction continues after interruption in the “War of the Betrayers” (the name for the war between the PKA and GSC). It is during this period that the 3 Powers truly start to become what could be called “Superpowers” or possibly even “Hyperpowers”; so dominant on the global stage, and working to improve their own economies and those of the GSC Circle that global politics seems to revolve around the words “Alperian”, “Warpian” and “Drakite.” The North Drakites revitalize their economy in the form of a trade nexus, acting as an intermediary between the Alperians and their uplift-nations and the European Union/TWP and their uplift-nations. The Alperians become truly dominant as a technological juggernaut, creating new technologies and devices at an incredible rate and eventually creating the AIs that now run Alperia. The Warpians and Europeans also did what they always did best; with the Protectorate becoming an industrial power unlike any before, and the European Union providing a balance between Alperia’s high-tech manufacturing and the Protectorate’s industry and ultimately beginning to lag behind the other 3. Unfortunately this is where true anti-GSC sentiment begins to rise as the rest of the world rebuilds, neglected by the GSC and jealous, afraid or just plain angry at their power, exploitation and money. At this point, earth’s ecology has more or less been fully repaired by the GSC and Infor; yet work continues to assure that nature is able to stand up against mankind’s re-expansion without being trod underfoot. Minor problems exist in the form of Inforian hypergrowth sometimes growing TOO much and acting like kudzu, choking out surviving pre-fault species, or actually beginning to overrun civilized areas without maintenance while the new super-survivalist animals reportedly snatch away lost children and pets; but this is considered well within acceptable bounds for the time by the GSC. The Second Cold War September 22, 2115 The Inforian Civil Wars begins; many historians consider this a misnomer however since in the beginning of the war; it was more “The Inforian Purge.” Until recently; the shadow-government of Infor had been playing nice with the GSC but had been supplying the South Drakites and PKA with bioweapons and bioengineering technology under the table yet again for payment in resources that would allow the Inforian upper-echelon to dispose of their populace and complete their master plan. The Inforian Civil War began with the withdrawal of the Infor from the GSC Circle and their formal alliance with the South Drakites, shocked by their government’s decision; rioting and revolution were sparked by the general populace along with most of Infor’s scientists and engineering professionals (later to become the leaders of the Inforian exiles)…all people considered undesirable by the government due to their inability to be corrupted. The GSC intended to intervene but was stopped in their tracks by declaration of war by the South Drakites and Peacekeeper Alliance. Out of fear of another world war sparking, the GSC was forced into low-intensity conflict amid proxy states with only minimal shooting between the GSC Security Council and the newly formed Isenberg Pact (the GSC name given for the new South Drakite-Infor-PKA-Gran Colombia alliance and named after the Drakite Empire’s capital). 2115 – 2148 This “warm war” as it known by some historians; gives the Infor the time they need to begin the genocide of their own people; however the people of Infor prove more resilient than expected by their government and its bioengineered South Drakite supersoldiers. Calling themselves the Republic of Paradine, the former citizens of Infor managed to claim and control Infor’s numerous cave-cities, fortresses and bunkers, fortifying them to an almost unbreakable point; with the Drakites unwilling to result to things like nuclear bunker-busters for their own fear of retaliation by the GSC. Eventually the war between Paradine and Infor devolves into a proxy war of plagues and non-sapient, genetically modified beasts sent to battle in a hyper-mutated and extremely deadly jungle now overrunning the last of Infor’s actual cities. Then suddenly…everything stopped, the animals continued to fight but what was once the Inforian government seemed to cease existing, the last of their cities crumbled under their own plant life and all that remained was the chirping of insects and the roars of predators. By the official end of the Paradine-Infor War, the genocide of the Inforian people was the largest confirmed-number in human history; resulting in over 20 million human deaths, most of which happed in the first year of the war. Unbeknownst to both the Isenberg Pact and GSC however…this had been the plan all along, the nation died (but what happened to the upper-echelon still remains a mystery) but in the decades during its death it had been releasing and distributing a large number of viruses and bacteria harmless to humans (and therefore largely unnoticed) that contained backdoor commands to the plants and animals Infor had worked on with Alperia and that now made up most of earth’s ecology. These animals began to reproduce and mutate at impossible levels, the plants became predatory and began to destructively expand into the surrounding landscape, devouring whole cities and causing massive population displacement into the already unstable neutral and Isenberg pact-aligned nations like Gran Colombia. With Infor dead, both Alperia and the South Drakites dialed down hostilities as they sat back and tried to figure out what just happened. Paranoid and weakened, the Republic of Paradine now had to deal with the newly formed “Word of Purity” a pseudo-theocratic state that had sprung up in the lands around them as successors to Infor. The Word was made up of those caught in Infor’s “expansion” during their civil war, and had acted as troops and test subjects in the later years. These barely-human abominations now ruled a good chunk of the southern continent, sharing space with Gran Colombia and the beasts that now roamed the land. The Word seemed to actually cultivate Infor’s megabeasts, trying their best to assure they were spread far and wide. August 29, 2141 Alperia “completes” (albeit with plans for later expansion, modification and upgrades; making it never truly complete) it militarization of space with the last node added to the //ANSS Mechanis//, making a total grid of over 50 manned space stations containing backup command centers, “shield installations,” infantry garrisons, research centers, and an asteroid belt mining command nexus; along with thousands of satellites from the “Hand of God” and “Seraphim” weapon systems. This political move was timed with the public release of information coming from several GSC-based companies and governments regarding the now-live plans to begin the mining of a few moons, celestial bodies and the asteroid belt along with the plans to start small research colonies on Mars, Luna and in orbit over Venus, with longer-term mining plans for the moons of Europa and Io. Most of these plans see fruition and turn a legendary profit for the GSC, further accelerating the Protectorate and Alperia to a firm, theoretical “hyperpower” status. This date also marks the renaming of the Alperian Federation to the Alperian Technocracy as the AIs become more pervasive in their running of the nation as well as the sharp rise in cybernetics and the changes to a sort of pseudo-oligarchical government…It also marks the high-point of the Alperian “Augmentation Riots.” Up unit this point cybernetics had been an accepted thing in Alperia, nearly all Alperians were cyborgs with a small neural implant and possibly some other modifications; however the past few years had seen a very sharp rise in cybernetics-use by sections of the population, the en-utero genetic engineering of children and the use of the AIs in the private, public and government spheres. The formerly uniform nation, which was renowned for having a very well-treated populace with a very small income-gap, began to suffer from some of the worst ‘class-warfare’ in history. The general population; though trained, educated and upgraded were losing jobs hand-over-fist to automation and the children of “augs” (those obsessed with cybernetic upgrades), unemployment was skyrocketing past the 15% mark and riots were becoming commonplace. The AIs were largely indifferent, after all; a well-upgraded citizen who was born with gene mods could do the jobs of 10 men with less upgrades, and for cheaper; plus their own control over automated civic systems made ditch diggers, sewer workers, EMTs, and thousands of other jobs irrelevant. The “high point” of these riots could be considered when unemployment had reached an almost comical 49% and something had to be done to placate the no-longer-necessary populace. 2141 – 2150s (nebulous end) With the blessing of the government and by command of the AIs, Alperia began “The Exodus;” the evacuation and emigration of over 60% of its population to land succeeded in order to allow successor states to be formed. Most of the land succeeded was in the southern, mostly uninhabited areas of the nation, and cities were flash-constructed by an automated workforce from materials recycled from the literal disassembling several now-empty cities. Once the Exodus was largely complete, the new states were left to their own devices and retained a mostly-bad relationship with their parent state, with only one choosing to remain in the GSC Circle. These states included several microstates and city states, but the 3 largest were the North American Union; the one who retained the best relationship with Alperia. Second was The Free Lands; a fundamentalist, technophobic, libertarian playground that joined the LIN. The final one was the Eastern Commonwealth of America; which retained the largest population and chose to remain totally unaligned, even from the League of Independent Nations. Many citizens also emigrated to the many other GSC, LIN and free City States around the world. March 4, 2152 Taking a hint from the new Alperian states and finally starting to coalesce together; Paradine; still mistrusted by the GSC, hunted by the Isenberg Pact and in constant warfare with the Word of Purity and Infor’s legacy joins forces with several new, self-formed nations. Firedonia, a rich, relatively powerful, independent nation almost as old as Paradine helps charter the first draft of the League of Independent Nations. The LIN stands as an alliance between the increasingly rules-obsessed GSC and their “gated community” of rich and powerful nations who primarily help themselves; and the semi-official Isenberg Pact, a loose collection of the lost, damned, and vengeful kept in line by the fear and money exported by the South Drakites and Peacekeeper Alliance. Among the founding members are the hyper-capitalist Commonwealth of Ursaca and the grassroots, rural Confederation of New Dixie. 2155 Once a barley-extant nation of warlords and scrap metal; Gran Colombia is finally consumed by the Word of Purity and Infor’s creations, another mass-exodus kicks the Colombians who did escape into nearby nations (leading to several severe economic and political issues), but many more are added into the Word’s flock, further expanding the power base. The Word of Purity now controls most of the southern continent, only Paradine stands a bastion their and Infor’s control. 2155-2180 Since the end of the Inforian Civil War the Isenberg Pact and the GSC have been in a state of constant low-intensity conflict and proxy wars; an allied city state will be attacked and other alliance will respond, constantly, back and forth. Many unstable areas are armed by both alliances before being torn apart via internal strife. This varies from year to year, some years nearing all-out war and others having almost no conflict, resembling a more conventional “cold war” June 6, 2167 The South Drakite Empire disappears from all orbital and sea-based sensors, while the nation is obviously visible from orbit; it is surrounded in a seemingly perpetual, black cloud cover that seems to interfere with most sensors, radiation and any attempts as visual espionage. This “Shroud” as it becomes known baffles and terrifies GSC warfare-theorists. November 9, 2168 The Republic of New Avalon goes to war with the Knight's Order, both being GSC nations; this creates a huge political debacle that eventually leads to a betrayal by the RNA as it brings in numerous neutral and LIN nations to assist in invading the mountainous nation. Despite being drastically outnumbered, the KO military easily defends its fortress-nation while the rest of the GSC formalizes invasion plans. The Invasion plans culminate in a 3-day long invasion of the RNA by the TWP which causes all other participating nations to instantly drop their invasion of the KO and accept unconditional surrender, leading to extensive reparations paid to the KO. This causes some severe setbacks in LIN-GSC relationships and causes a cut in funding for Paradine’s “repository” while the mess is sorted out. Beginning of a New Age December 24, 2177 A series of terrorist attacks across the globe, known as the “The Christmas Eve Bombings” becomes one of the greatest tragedies in the first world in recent memory. Believed to be carried out by PKA cells or possibly Word of Purity extremists/infiltrators; several places of worship, malls, civic centers and schools are destroyed in several cities across multiple nations, death toll is estimated in the hundreds of thousands when all was said and done, with billions lost in damages. This act becomes one of the defining moments in the later decades, and sets the tone for the later PKA and WoP terrorism campaigns. October 2180 In an unprecedented political accomplishment, Firedonia is granted exclusive and extremely lucrative orbital expansion and mining rights by the GSC Council, setting the framework for the nation to provide more resources and support to its fellow LIN nations. February 2184 '''Deep-space probes deployed by the Alperian mining projects return with spherical, magnetic orbs found floating in orbit around Uranus (among the ring system). The objects are almost perfectly spherical and made of transuranic alloys and covered in dust and microdebris matching decay rates and composition with material from the Kuiper belt. '''Early 2190s Mankind is starting to be backed into a corner; terrorism, political turmoil, class-warfare, nature rising actively against man, and a violent religion emphasizing genetic engineering and lead by charismatic priests affecting the lower-class of many nations. The Word of Purity has become a major worldwide religious and philosophical movement outside the first-world and thousands convert to the “Children of Infor” every week; the promises of strength, intelligence, power and most of all safety and purpose driving more and more into the WoP’s arms. Not that their fears or reasons are unfounded as Inforian bioengineered superfauna and superflora have replaced over 99% of the pre-fault environmental niches and expand at an incredible rate, mutating into entirely different "species" in the course of only a handful of generations; adapting to new tactics and methods of taking them out within months. New viruses and bacterial plagues infect most city states and non-GSC nations and reports of mythical-sounding Inforian megabeasts (named the "13 Great Ones") regularly demolish entire areas of unclaimed land. The Earth is quickly becoming a tenuous balance between mankind's technology and the bioengineered monsters of the Infor, any example of which can easily kill a normal human. The GSC believes Infor’s creations and the WoP’s teachings contained behind their Alpha-Omega line (an entire nation turned into a literal fortress to stop Infor’s growth) and through the actions of the Atlantian and Rubinelle fleets securing the South and Shattered seas, but yet the corruption spreads and consumes, even hostilities with the Drakites and PKA have dropped sharply as they presumably deal with their own problems…the second apocalypse is coming to finish the job.